Tennis Court Murders
by Linnea Farhen
Summary: Sequel To "The Targeted Tennis Player Of Seigaku". Dangers doesn't want to leave Ryoma and Kourin. That's what they thought when they decided to solve the serial tennis court murder case happening all over Tokyo. But finding the killer turned out to be harder and more dangerous than the last case they've dealt with that one of them might die from doing so.
1. Chapter 1

**TENNIS COURT MURDERS**

_**(Sequel To "The Targeted Tennis Player Of Seigaku", **__**Part 2 of "Detective Tennis" series)**_

**Summary: **Dangers doesn't want to leave Ryoma and Kourin. That's what they thought when they decided to solve the serial tennis court murder case happening all over Tokyo. But finding the killer turned out to be harder and more dangerous than the last case they've dealt with that one of them might die from doing so.

**Standard disclaimer applies. You are warned that the characters might not be in their usual selves (in other words, possible OOCness).**

**-x-x-**

**CHAPTER 1**

The night was beautiful with the moon almost in full shape illuminated the streets. The stars shimmered beautifully that one could conclude that it was made for something enchanting and wonderful. Many people—most especially couples—would surely agree to that.

But that particular night became stained in crimson red as a man wearing a hooded black cape and a black and white mask to cover his face walked down the dark alley of Beika District with a shiny and sharp katana on his hand. It was unsheathed since he threw its scabbard far away before he pounced on his target and mercilessly killed the poor person.

Though the culprit killed his target in that dark alley, it wasn't enough. The dark alley was just the place to execute his target's death. The place where he would dump the body was another on his list.

For the fourth time, he executed his plan perfectly. And he would execute it until the fish caught his bait—the fish he had been meaning to kill for so long. But because of some circumstances that was out of his hand, he was forced to retreat and devised another plan. And with this somewhat diabolical and deadly plan, he was sure that the fish he wanted to catch so bad would take his bait.

He smirked when the blood trickled down from his katana just after he slashed his target's throat and stabbed his stomach through and through. The poor thing could only stare at this perpetrator in extreme shock—that expression was reflected on his face until his death. The culprit didn't mind the arterial sprays of blood that stained the walls and his clothes. In fact, he was immensely happy at the sight.

"You are sure to take this bait, my fish…" the culprit murmured with a maniacal grin before he carried his victim—now dead—and placed it on the back of his car that was just a little outside that dark alley.

He wasn't worried about watches since he knew that everyone was already asleep. As careful as he could, he drove away from that place and proceeded to his next destination—to his body dumpsite.

Where? To his victim's school.

Yes, his victim was a student. To make it even more disturbing, the victim was a middle school student and a member of that school's tennis club.

Just like the culprit's first three victims.

After driving for about 20 minutes, he reached his destination. He hurriedly proceeded with his plans of placing the dead body in one of the school's tennis courts. He made the body sit on the cemented floor and tied the victim's hands to the net as the arms were spread wide—as if the victim was crucified. Blood continued to flow from the dead body that already stained the court.

For the final touch, he placed a wilted flower on the victim's lowered head and a mini-CD on his lap.

_We'll see how far you're willing to go to get after me,_ he thought sadistically before he left that place with content and triumph in his evil heart.

**-x-x-**

**That's it for the first chapter. Was it weird? **

**Read and review, please… even though this story is placed in the crossover section. :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**TENNIS COURT MURDERS**

**(Sequel To "The Targeted Tennis Player Of Seigaku"; Part 2 of "Detective Tennis" series)**

**Standard disclaimer applies. You are warned that the characters might not be in their usual selves (in other words, possible OOCness).**

**-x-x-**

**CHAPTER 2**

_**The next day…**_

Just like how it was the first time the murder was committed, it was a media frenzy. Several news networks made the recent murder their top news since it was done brutally—only a cold-blooded killer could definitely do such horrible thing. The police couldn't do anything to locate the culprit with little evidence they had so far.

And to think this was already the fourth time the culprit murdered someone. But thanks to that, they now had an idea the main target of the culprit.

The target: A middle schooler who was a member of a tennis club. By far, the culprit wasn't targeting tennis regulars but he was targeting those who were having late night practices. For this reason that the police told to the media, every middle school in Tokyo were asked not to have late night practices. Of course, not all school heeded the police's warning but there were still more who were cautious and decided to follow orders.

One of those schools was Seishun Gakuen.

All of them heard/watched the news about the recent murder. No one could tell the culprit's motive for doing such a thing but they concluded one thing about all this.

The murderer held a heavy grudge towards the middle school students who were a part of the tennis club. The intensity of his grudge could be seen by just how brutal he killed his victims who couldn't even fight back. Whatever was the root of the culprit's grudge, no one could tell.

Meanwhile, at Teitan Elementary School, the last periods for Grade 1-B and Grade 4-C were just about finished and the Detective Boys decided to play some game after class at the park. But Kourin and Haibara decided not to participate that day.

"I'm really sorry. I have to head home early to finish something," Kourin said apologetically to the other kids.

"But why? Is it really urgent?" Ayumi asked.

Kourin nodded before smiling. "I'm really sorry about this, Ayumi-_chan_. Agasa-_hakase_ still has something to do later at 6:00 so I have to hurry home to finish what I had to do before that."

"Is it your project again?" Mitsuhiko then asked, disappointment was evident on his face.

But she just shook her head. "No. I'll have a lot of free time after exams for me to do my project. But I need to ask for the professor's help in order for me to complete it."

"Is that so?"

They continued walking on the sidewalk of that mall when suddenly, both Kourin and Conan's attention were caught by a very disturbing news that they saw on TV.

"_**The 'Tennis Court Serial Killer' had striked yet again, with him already leaving four brutally murdered victims for the past 2 weeks. The same pattern he did to kill another middle school student was used. Just like before, a mini-CD was placed on the victim's lap with a melody recorded in it. But the police admitted that they they're having a hard time figuring out what it means. They knew it was a message, according to Megure**_**-keibu**_** of the Metropolitan Police Department's First Division…"**_

Those words that the reporter stated made Kourin stop to her tracks and decided to listen to the news further. When the other kids noticed this, they too decided to do what Kourin was doing. They were watching it from the one of the TVs displayed near the window glass of the establishment.

This time, they saw the reporter interviewing Inspector Megure.

"_**Megure-**_**keibu**_**, are there any other clues left by the killer to help you solve this series of brutal murders to the middle school students?"**_ one of the reporters on the TV asked.

"_**The murder remained to be relatively the same if we're going to base it to the first three murders. It was easy enough for us to conclude that it was the same person who did this fourth murder because of the very same clues he left along with the victim. Now with regards to the melody recorded in the mini-CD, we knew it held some sort of message in it. But until now, we're doing our best to figure out what message lies in it,"**_ Inspector Megure (on the interview) calmly answered.

But then the kids saw the portly inspector enraged upon hearing a melody. Though it was faint and with the distraction of the reporters' voices from the scene of interview, Kourin heard it loud and clear. Unknown to many people (expect her cousin), she has the ability to isolate different sound waves from each other.

As she tried concentrating on what was listening to, she was then struck with something when she heard the incomplete melody since the inspector ordered the officer to turn off the player where the mini-CD was probably placed.

"_Hell of fire will spread again as you enter my vengeance's den…" What the heck does the killer mean by that?_ She thought in distress that Conan noticed and made him feel worried for her.

For the past 2 months after the Dark Rose incident, this was the first time after that event that Conan saw the distressed expression of his cousin again.

"_Oi_, Rin, what's wrong?" he couldn't help but to ask.

But he got no answer from her which made the other kids worried for her. Before any of them could say something, they saw Kourin took something from her jacket pocket. Much to their confusion, it was her cellphone.

"Pick it up… Pick it up… Pick it up…" Kourin mumbled as if in a hurry as she waited for the person on the other line to pick up the phone and answer it. She sighed fast in relief upon hearing someone said "hello" from the other line. "_Hakase_, it's Kourin. I might not be able to make it there early today."

Of course, that statement made the other kids surprised.

"But why, Rin-_san_? Aren't you supposed to finish something?" Ayumi asked despite her confusion.

But the said fourth grader didn't say anything and just waited for the professor to answer back.

"But I thought the invention we're working on should be finished today. And you know that I'm leaving at 6 later tonight. What seems to be the reason for you to cancel it?" Professor Agasa inquired that made Kourin heave a sigh. Her action was enough for the professor to realize that something was wrong.

"I'm going to talk to Megure-_keibu_ about something important," Kourin said seriously. "It's about the recent tennis court serial murders."

Though surprised, the others—particularly Conan and Haibara—could finally understand why she suddenly made such decision. It took a while for the professor to say something after Kourin said something so serious.

"_Hakase_?"

"Alright, then. I'll inform Megure-_keibu_ about your intention to visit. But be sure to go home as early as you can. Yuusaku and Yukiko would kill me if something bad happen to you again."

Kourin smiled upon hearing that. "Thank you, _Hakase_. Don't worry. I'll do as you say." With that, she ended the phone call and faced her friends. "I'm sure you'll go with me so let's go before it gets too late."

The rest of the Detective Boys headed to the Metropolitan Police Department along with Rin. Unbeknownst to them, the coded music would only lead them to another danger that they must face heads on.

**-x-x-**

_**Metropolitan Police Department…**_

"_Keibu_, there are kids who wanted to see you. They said it's quite important so I let them in here," a police officer informed Inspector Megure that made the said person raise his head from whatever he was reading at the moment.

"That must be them. You can let them go here."

The officer obliged and after a few moments, the Detective Boys entered the office. Like what Professor Agasa had stated to Kourin earlier, it would appear that Inspector Megure had anticipated the kids' arrival.

"Conan-_kun_! _Maa_, it was a surprise for you to be here at this hour when you're supposed to be going home and doing your homeworks," the inspector jokingly scolded to the kids.

Kourin could only smile at that while Conan laughed weakly and a bit forced.

"I'm sorry for that, Megure-_keibu_," Kourin said that changed the said person's focus from Conan to her.

"Ah, it's okay. Agasa-_hakase_ did say that you have something to tell me about the tennis court serial murders. But for a kid to say something as crucial as that, I don't know."

"It's the coded melody," Kourin replied. "The killer left a message in it and if you're careful enough to listen and decode it, you'll be able to figure out what he wanted to say to you."

What she said made the inspector face the girl. What he saw gave him a bit of a surprise, though. Kourin had a grave expression on her face that he saw only once—during the case about the Dark Rose Agency 2 months ago. It wasn't a surprise for him to know that Kourin was as extremely smart as Conan (since he heard from Professor Agasa and Kudo Yuusaku that those two kids were cousins) despite her young age of 9. A few months from now—to be specific, December 25—she would be turning 10. But for her to decode the melody—

Wait a minute! How did she decode it anyway?

Seemingly clear enough to read the inspector's mind, Conan answered his unspoken question.

"I think Rin managed to decode parts of the music when we watched your interview a while back. An officer accidentally played the music in the CD player where the mini-CD was placed, right?"

Despite the confusion, Inspector Megure nodded. Conan continued.

"Even though it's faint and with many voices speaking in the background, Rin managed to hear it. She has the ability to isolate different sound waves from each other, making her able to distinguish the different sounds in one environment. She had that ability at that age although it wasn't fully developed yet."

"I only heard parts of it, just until the part before you ordered the officer to turn off the CD player," Kourin added. "_Keibu-san_, would it be alright if I hear the rest of the music?"

Inspector Megure only looked at the determined fourth grader's face for a while. For Kourin, it was obvious that the man was having doubts as to whether he would do what she had asked or decline it.

_I guess I have no choice but to do this._ After taking a deep breath, she started speaking. " _'Hell of fire will spread again as you enter my vengeance's den…'_ That's the message hidden on the first part of the music accidentally played in the interview earlier. Though I stated it in Japanese, the original code was stated in English."

"Could it be that the culprit is a foreigner?" Genta speculated.

"Not necessarily. It could be anyone who's fluent in English and knowledgeable about music," Conan said before facing Kourin. "Rin, could it be that you decoded that music by making each key on the piano a letter starting from the left?"

She nodded. Then she remembered something. "You encountered this kind of decoding system before, right?"

"Yeah. But the music that I encountered that time was slower than this since it's classical music and it was written in music sheets. But I'm amazed that you managed to read the code without the help of the music sheets. I couldn't hear the song properly when I was listening to it on TV."

_That's because I was trained to listen to this kind of music, Shin-_nii_… especially those that have hidden messages in them…_ But Kourin decided against telling him about that. She just smiled at him.

"I see," Inspector Megure could only say. He, too, knew what Kourin and Conan was talking about. "If that's the case, then I'll let you come with me."

Both Conan and Kourin exchanged a surprise look before nodding and then they followed the inspector to wherever he would take them. A few moments later, they reached a certain room where some of the evidences from the serial murder were laid. All of it were covered in plastic bags used in safeguarding evidences in order to prevent contamination.

"This must be the layout room," Kourin said in a soft tone as she looked around the place.

They suddenly stopped walking when they saw Inspector Megure took something from one of the laid evidences on the table. After wearing a pair of gloves, Inspector Megure placed the mini-CD in the CD player and waited for it to load and play. Knowing what was about to happen, the other kids and some officers who were there in that room—that includes Detective Satou and Detective Takagi—went quiet and intently listened and observed the events.

Like what Conan said, Kourin decoded the music code the way he stated it since the music was played in a piano. Conan and Inspector Megure also tried to decode the music in their minds. Though the music was played a little fast, they managed to do so. But as it continuously played, the three of them—even Haibara after analyzing the music and how it should be decoded—were shocked upon realizing the message lying hidden within that beautiful music.

"He's telling us his next target," Haibara subconsciously murmured in surprise.

The other three kids were surprised to hear that. Detective Satou and Detective Takagi approached Haibara as they heard what she said.

"How can you be so sure about that?" Detective Satou asked.

"She's telling the truth," Inspector Megure said after the music was played. Conan was gritting his teeth with his fist clenched tightly to his side. Kourin was frowning while massaging her right temple.

It would appear that listening and decoding the message of the music code became too much for her mind to bear.

"Rin-_san_, are you alright?" Mitsuhiko asked concerningly.

Kourin heard it and she nodded before forcing a smile on her face. But it was just for a while. Her face turned serious again.

"_Ne_, Rin-_san_, what does Ai-_chan_ meant when she said that the killer was telling us his next target?" Ayumi asked despite the slight fear she could sense in the young girl's voice.

Even though Ayumi had been to this kind of situations a lot of times, it was still evident that it didn't actually helped any of those kids (with the exception of Conan and Haibara, of course) to conquer that fear. Kourin understood that.

"Ai-_chan_ was telling the truth. I guess she managed to decode it, as well. The killer told us through this coded music about his next target. But no specific person was mentioned in his code—only the location where he would kill his next target."

"What did the code say?" Detective Takagi inquired, causing him to receive glares from Detective Satou and Inspector Megure. But it was obvious that he was unmindful about it. He was intently looking to both Conan and Kourin as he was waiting for one of the kids to answer his question.

The black haired fourth grader sighed before she spoke. " _'Hell of fire will spread again as you enter my vengeance's den. Silver moon, enlighten me in full as I end their journey with my tool. My next target, I shall now reveal. 'Tis where the samurai forged his sword's steel.'_ That's what the code say. But…" her voice trailed off as she frowned again, as if she tried to think about the aforementioned riddle.

" '_Where the samurai forged his sword's steel'_? So he's targeting a swordsmith now?" Mitsuhiko mumbled that they still heard.

"No, he's not. He's only targeting middle school students who happened to be a member of the tennis club. He wasn't killing random people for this purpose. But the last phrase… There must be something to it that we have to figure out. After all, it's a location, right?" Conan said and then he looked at Kourin. "But the problem now is where could be the location he mentioned in the code. _'Where the samurai forged his sword's steel…_'"

"It could be a school where a son or daughter of a known swordsman was studying and who happened to be a tennis player," Ayumi suggested in which the other kids (Genta and Mitsuhiko) agreed.

_Known swordsman… who happened to be a tennis player?_ Kourin's eyes widened when she realized something from what Mitsuhiko said. _Don't tell me… he's going after __**that **__school?_

"_Oi_, Rin! What's wrong?" Conan inquired upon seeing his cousin's facial expression. By the looks of it, her face could tell something that wasn't really good.

"There's only one school here in Tokyo that I know so far where a samurai resides," Kourin uttered despite her surprise upon realizing something.

"Where a samurai resides?" Conan's eyes widened upon immediately realizing the answer. "You couldn't mean…!"

Kourin nodded gravely as an answer. It would appear that both of them reached the same conclusion—a terrifying conclusion.

"The killer's next target will be from Seigaku Tennis Club."

As expected, everyone in that room were surprised to hear that.

_I guess my friends there will be facing another danger. Ryoma-_niichan_, Momo-_chan_, Fuji-_san_… _Kami-sama_, keep them safe…_

**-x-x-**

_**The same day, Echizen residence, 9:30 p.m.**_

Ryoma was in his room for the past 2 hours since he got home and had dinner and to be honest, he was bored big time. There was supposed to be a late night practice for another upcoming tennis tournament even though the Nationals was over. He anticipated all that but then he guess he couldn't help it. Middle school students who happened to be members of the tennis club were being targeted by still an unknown serial killer. Tezuka and Coach Ryuzaki didn't want something like that to happen to the rest of the Seigaku Tennis Club—regulars and non-regulars alike. Even he would fear something like that since he hadn't fully recovered from the trauma he received during the Dark Rose case.

There would come a night that he couldn't fully sleep because of recurring nightmares with regards to the incident. Truthfully, he managed to go on since there was something that helped him at least forget the fear he felt from that time.

Upon remembering that, he sat up from his bed and peered at the study table where the item that calmed him dow was placed. A smile—a gentle smile, not the usual confident and cocky one—carved his face as soon as he laid his eyes on the item. He then stood up and went near the study table to have a closer look. He sat on the chair in front of the table.

Beside the table lamp placed there was an expensive-looking music box.

According to Kourin, it was her favorite music box since her brother Hitoshi gave it to her on her 5th birthday. She gave it to him after Kourin got discharged of the hospital. Of course, at first, he didn't accept it since he learned that the item came from Hitoshi but she insisted. She said that her dead brother would be very happy if she handed that music box to him. And it also appeared that she predicted something about his recurring nightmares so she said that he should open the music box to let the song play.

Though he wasn't feeling anything ominous as of the moment, he opened it and let the music play.

He wasn't fond of having a music box but that particular music box somehow worked like a charm to him. It did calm him down and ease his fears after waking from nightmares. But at that point, he just wanted to play it and allowed his mind to travel somewhere.

But before he could do so, a cat's meow woke him up from his trance. When he looked down, he saw Karupin meowing as the music continued to play. Then Karupin jumped to his lap and meowed again.

"I guess you miss Rin, huh?" Ryoma said as he continued to stroke his cat's fur. Karuin meowed, as if it was answering his master's question. "Me, too. I wonder how she is. It's been 2 months since then."

But then Ryoma chose to listen to listen to the music played in the music box. And just like before, it never failed to calm him down—just like what Kourin had promised to him when she handed the music box to him. With the thought of that girl, he pulled one drawer open and took something from there.

It was a picture frame.

He smiled when he saw the picture of him and Kourin in that frame. It was taken during Doctor Yanai Shinichiro and Doctor Akira Shouda's wedding celebration. Besides him and Kourin, the Detective Boys and the Seigaku Regulars were in that picture, too. But his feline-like eyes were focused more on him and Kourin. Her smile had life on it the last time he saw it from her. It wasn't a sad and painful smile anymore. She probably had come in terms with her family's untimely and gruesome deaths. According to her, she did… right after she saved him from being shot by that Dark Rose sniper.

Remembering _that incident_ again made him sigh. _I guess I'll never be able to forget all that, huh?_ Ryoma thought and decided to stand up to go to bed so he wouldn't oversleep again. But for some weird reason, Karupin suddenly moved and jumped on his head that startled him. With that sudden action, he inadventertly dropped that picture frame he was holding that surprised him most.

When Karupin finally left his master, Ryoma immediately crouched down to check on the picture frame. Disappointment… and unnamed fear ran through him when he saw that the glass had a crack on it—two cracks, to be specific. He saw where the two centers of those cracks were located—one on Kourin's face and the other was on Kikumaru's face. He couldn't tell why but this told him something about those two people.

Something foreboding and probably inevitable…

_I just hope nothing dangerous happens again._

He wasn't the type of person who believed in premonitions but this particular feeling he was having right now made him want to do otherwise. But he would continuously hope that nothing dangerous of some sort would occur to his friends again…

…especially to Kourin.

_Stay safe, Rin._

**-x-x-**

**That's it for Chapter 2. What do you think of this one? I know there are only a few people who place their review in crossover section. But I hope you at least give this one a chance. I'd like to know what you think. Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

**TENNIS COURT MURDERS**

**(Sequel To "The Targeted Tennis Player Of Seigaku", Part 2 of "Detective Tennis" series)**

**Standard disclaimer applies. You are warned that the characters might not be in their usual selves (in other words, possible OOCness).**

**-x-x-**

**CHAPTER 3**

_Seishun Gakuen Tennis Courts, the next day…_

Most of the students of Seishun Gakuen arrived early and that includes the members of the Seigaku Tennis Club. But their arrival to that school had gave them a scare and shock of their lifetime upon seeing something on one of the tennis courts of the school. Of course, one couldn't help but to scream at the sight that greeted them because of fear and surprise.

The person who did that the loudest was Arai.

This had caught the attention of the other students of the school. When they decided to check out what was going on, they were shocked as hell. Even the Seigaku regulars who had just arrived were stunned to know the reason of the students' commotion on that court.

"Call the police!" Oishi shouted without looking away from the court.

"We already did. They said that they're on their way and told us not to go near the body," one student replied.

Just what was predicted, a murder happened at Seigaku. No one could say a word when they saw a junior member's dead body sitting on the middle of the tennis court with blood staining his tennis uniform, the net, and the court itself. His hands were tied with his arms spread wide onto the net.

When Fuji looked around the court, his eyes (despite being close) spotted something. He saw an orange lily lying on one extreme edge of the court. As far as he could remember, the court was clean when they left it yesterday. But he couldn't just conclude that it was from the killer, although he had to admit that the flower itself proved to be even more suspicious than the dead body itself.

A few minutes later, the police arrived. Of course, the regulars already recognized some familiar faces since it was just 2 months ago when they last saw those people.

"_Oi_, they're some of the police we met during _**that case**_, right?" Momoshiro inquired as he saw Inspector Megure, Detective Satou, Inspector Shiratori, Detective Takagi, and Detective Chiba, among others, heading towards the crime scene.

"You're right. They're the one in charge of the homicides in the metropolitan area since they belong to the Criminal Investigation's First Division."

Other members of the police force also went straight to the crime scene to secure it from onlookers and to prevent the evidences from being contaminated.

The police—especially Inspector Megure—couldn't help but to feel frustrated, disappointed, and angry. It would appear that despite their warnings to the students of Seishun Gakuen—most especially to the tennis club members, they couldn't prevent the murder from happening. Kourin and Conan were right upon predicting that the next target was from Seigaku. He knew for sure, just like the rest of the police, those kids would be as frustrated and angry as them.

"Nya! Who could do something like this to him?" Eiji couldn't help but to ask as he continued to look at the gruesome scene.

"Fsshh… This is surely getting way too far," Kaidoh muttered under his breath; anger could surely be felt from his voice.

"But I guess it wasn't such a simple grudge that the killer was bearing inside of him. This is too much. His hatred for us tennis players wasn't as simple as I thought. His determination to continue this gruesome game could be seen in each of his victims," Fuji commented in a grave tone. The other regulars agreed to that statement.

But while the regulars were giving their opinions regarding the case, Ryoma wasn't saying anything at all. He was still staring at the crime scene and the serious looks from the police officers as they continued investigating.

Tezuka noticed this, though. Fuji and Oishi soon followed who sensed Tezuka's attention focusing on the freshman.

"Echizen, are you alright?" Fuji asked.

Ryoma answered with a nod without looking at any of his _senpai-tachi_.

Fuji didn't say anything even though he perfectly knew that Ryoma wasn't alright. There was something that surely bothered the freshman rookie as Ryoma continued to look at the scene.

But it wasn't just Ryoma who was bothered. Fuji was immensely bothered, as well. He was bothered ever since he saw the orange lily on the court. There was something to it, he could feel at least that much. Though it wasn't obvious, the other regulars were as bothered as Fuji and Ryoma.

Only one truth prevails—Edogawa Conan once said that to Ryoma and the other regulars while they waited for Kourin to recover from the gunshot.

Whatever the truth that lies within the series of murders happening right now, they might be able to find that out. Of course, it wasn't like them to act as detectives (with the exception of Inui, maybe). But they admit that they have incredibly curious minds and they were highly intuitive in some ways.

They might possibly stumble onto a case related to this which could lead them to solve the mystery.

**-x-x-**

Kourin was panting hard upon reaching the gates of Seishun Gakuen. The rest of the Detective Boys soon caught up with her and just like her, they were catching their breaths for running from the train station just to reach Seigaku in time.

"Geez, Rin! Next time, try to remember the other people who were just right behind you when you run," Conan complained that Kourin only answered with a laugh despite catching her breath.

The rest of the Detective Boys decided not to go to play baseball that day (Teitan Elementary School was in a holiday that day so they don't have classes) when they noticed that Kourin and Conan were doing some deep thinking. Haibara already figured out the reason for that so she decided to ease Kourin's worried mind when she suggested that they should head to Seishun Gakuen instead. Almost instantly, the other kids agreed to that suggestion.

Kourin and Conan couldn't have been more delighted to that. It appeared that Haibara knew both kids wouldn't be able to concentrate on the game anyway even though they did head out to play with the others.

But much to the kids' surprise, police cars were already inside the school grounds and they could hear people murmuring and chattering on one corner of the school. Kourin already recognized the area—it was leading to the tennis courts.

"I guess we're too late…" Kourin murmured before rushing to the tennis courts.

"Rin-_san_, wait up!" Ayumi shouted before following the said girl. The other kids followed the two girls despite the confusion.

Conan soon realized why Kourin decided to run ahead of them. _I guess the killer already went ahead of us, huh? He already killed someone here. And we just found out how to solve the code yesterday. We shouldn't have been underestimating the culprit's ability,_ the bespectacled boy thought as he tried to keep up with Kourin.

After about a minute, they reached their destination but they were surprised to see a lot of people gathering around a certain tennis court. Both Conan and Kourin looked around to see a spot that wasn't so crowded for them to pass through easily. When they managed to find one and easily passed through together, they were stunned to see the gruesome scene.

"It can't be…" Conan uttered in his stunned state. "Despite decoding the coded music, the serial killer still killed someone here."

"We've been careless. It was like… the killer was mocking us with this. But I guess it's more of the fact that he was trying to lure someone out using this series of murders. And to think he would even put the bodies on the tennis courts…" Kourin said in a soft yet grave tone in which Conan could tell that she didn't like the idea about the killer going ahead of them.

She was angry and downright frustrated, he could tell that. So was he.

Kourin called out his attention by nudging him. "Shin-_nii_, look over there!" she said as she pointed at a certain direction.

His gaze followed it. He saw the orange lily lying innocently yet limply on the far edge of the court. He frowned as the sight.

"I have a feeling that the CD isn't the only clue that the killer left beside his victims' bodies."

Conan faced Kourin upon hearing that. "What do you mean?"

"If you want to consider the general meaning of orange lily in flower language, it means _revenge, hatred, _and _disdain_ in addition to _wealth_ and _pride_. And judging from the intensity of the damage he did to kill his victims, I would say it's too much. His hatred was something that had lived in his heart for a long time," Kourin explained in a serious tone.

_She has a point on that. But is it true that the CD isn't the only clue left by the killer beside the victims' dead bodies?_ Conan asked hto himself but he couldn't find an answer as he tried to think about it. There was only one person who could provide that to him. With that thought in mind, he pushed himself through the crowd. He didn't look back to face Kourin since he knew she would understand his sudden action. Before the police could even stop him, he entered the court and headed to the spot where Kourin saw the wilted orange lily. He picked it up using his unused handkerchief.

"Conan-_kun_, you shouldn't even be here. Aren't you supposed to be in school right now?" Detective Satou scolded him but he didn't pay attention to it. It looked like the female officer didn't know about Teitan Elementary being on a holiday.

Instead, Conan faced her with a serious look. "Satou-_keiji_, I want to ask you something. The mini-CD with the coded isn't the only item left by the serial killer on the crime scenes, is it? Could it be that he was also leaving wilted orange lilies beside the victim?"

Of course, the said female officer was surprised to hear that question, and to think it would come from a kid. But Conan was never an ordinarily curious kid, and she knew that. With a sigh, she answered him. "That's right. Megure-_keibu_ thought it wasn't a vital piece of clue but they found several orange lilies near the victims besides the mini-CD with a coded music. But now that you found another one here, I can tell that the serial killer is definitely leaving a message to us besides the one hidden in the music."

"_Revenge, hatred, and disdain…_ Rin said that it's just a few of the general meanings of orange lilies. The murderer wanted us to know his hatred towards the people possibly connected to the ones he murdered," Conan stated before handing the flower to Detective Satou and left the scene without a word.

Kourin was waiting for him outside the court hidden from other people.

"So?" she asked.

Conan sighed before he saw the other kids coming towards them. "You're right. The mini-CD isn't the only item that the murderer was leaving beside the victims. Megure-_keibu_ thought it wasn't related too much to the case. But seeing another orange lily for the fifth time, I doubt they could still say the same thing."

"Orange lily?" Genta asked while frowning. Conan nodded. "Why would the murderer leave something like that?"

"To convey his message to us—to anyone who could understand its meaning," Haibara said placidly.

"What kind of message?" Mitsuhiko asked.

"His hatred and desire for revenge," Kourin answered plainly before facing the crime scene. "But first, maybe we should get away from this place for a while. Seeing something like this reminds me of a lot of things. I don't want to get emotional here."

Ayumi and the others immediately understood what Kourin meant meant so the girl pulled the fourth grader a little away from the crowd and the crime scene. They stopped under the tree near the sinks outside the courts.

"I guess this place should be perfect for us to rest," Ayumi said with a nod after sitting down on the grass along with the other kids. "Are you alright, Rin-_san_? Should I get you a drink?"

Kourin gently shook her head before smiling. "No, it's okay. But thanks for the offer, anyway." Her faces went serious again—something that Conan and Haibara immediately noticed.

"Rin, if you're blaming yourself for what happened, don't. We never anticipated the murderer to be this fast. That only proves how determined he is to kill his victims," Conan simply stated despite his frustrations because of the case and his worries for his cousin. _That's why we have to think of a way to corner him. Solving his code isn't enough. If this continues, he'll kill more tennis players for something unreasonable. The orange lilies somehow provided a clue as to what the motive could be. But it's still a general reason. We need something more concrete._

The said girl didn't say anything, though. She was just looking at the ground and appeared to be in deep thoughts again.

_Not again,_ Conan could only think and was about to sigh when he heard Kourin mumble some words which still reached his ears.

"There's still something that I missed, I know it," he heard Kourin said.

He then saw her face Haibara and Ayumi who happened to be sitting next to each other.

"Did any of you know the victim's estimated time of death?"

The two girls frowned at the question. Despite that, Haibara answered when Conan gave her the signal that it would be okay since they thought that Kourin asked that question randomly.

"We heard it from Takagi-_keiji_ a while back about that. He said that the victime died between 10:00 and 11:00 PM last night and that it was an immediate death," Haibara answered.

Kourin went back to thinking again. "Between 10:00 and 11:00 PM, huh?" But as she replayed the answer in her mind over and over, a part of the code appeared there. Her eyes widened upon realizing something.

"_**Silver moon, enlighten me in full as I end their journey with my tool…"**_

_It can't be! The code didn't onlt hold a riddle about his target's location but it also holds the clue to when he would kill his victim. He killed his fifth victim during the full moon last night! _She slapped his forehead after realizing that. _Why in the world did I miss that part? I can't believe I didn't realize that sooner! I'm really an idiot!_ Kourin thought I frustration and because of that, she began to simultaneously hit her head even though she wasn't really doing it that hard.

Probably just enough to punish herself for missing that part of the code.

"_Oi_, Rin, that's enough! What's wrong with you?" Conan asked a bit loud, causing some ears to catch the name he memntioned.

**-x-x-**

Since the regulars knew they couldn't practice until afternoon because of the murder, they just decided to head to Kawamura's sushi shop instead. The freshmen trio decided to tag along, as well, even Sakuno and Tomoka. After packing up and getting their tennis bags, they all headed to their destination. The police requested the principal to suspend the students' classes for the day in order for them to investigate the case without further commotion. That was why the students already went home or to wherever they just felt like going.

But as they headed towards the school gate, the regulars still couldn't help but to let out their curiosity to the current situation.

"I can't believe I would see something like that first hand. And right here at our school, at that," Momoshiro commented.

"Yeah. Despite our warnings to the students, the serial killer managed to kill one of our members," Oishi said, slightly shaking his head.

"But no matter how much we warm them, I guess the killer's just that determined to kill his targets. It's a relief he wasn't targeting regulars even though it's still bad to think it as such. But still, this is too much for us," Fuji added in another serious tone. "And that flower on the court… It surely means something, that much I could tell. The courts were clean when we left it yesterday."

"What flower?" Kaidoh asked.

"An orange lily," Fuji answered. "I'm not sure what it was for but I have a bad feeling about it."

"But that doesn't mean it came from the killer, right? I mean, the CD was the only item left near the bodies, right?" Eiji inquired, still hoping that whatever Fuji said wouldn't add another confusing puzzle piece to the murders.

"The police doesn't disclose full information of the case to the media, especially if there are evidences that shouldn't be made known to the public. That way, they could prevent anyone from copying the method of the culprit to commit similar crimes," Inui stated while scribbling some notes on his notebook.

"But no matter where you put it, it's still scary seeing something like that," Katsuo commented. Of course, the other two freshmen agreed.

But they soon noticed that one particular freshman's mind wasn't actually focused on their conversation at all.

"Echizen, what's wrong?" Kawamura asked in a concerned tone followed by lightly gripping Ryoma's shoulder to catch his attention.

Of course, the action caught Ryoma surprised that made him face Kawamura. When he looked at the others, he saw the concerned looks on all of his _senpai_'s faces, even from his fellow freshmen. He shook his head to somehow answer the question even though he didn't really hear it.

Their faces spoke it to him, anyway.

"I was just thinking… on how Rin and Edogawa-_kun_ would think about this one," he said before proceeding ahead.

"Rin? You mean the kid who got shot 2 months ago?" Horio carelessly asked which made him earn a smack on the head from Tomoka and several glares from the regulars. Horio laughed nervously upon seeing that.

"Now that you mention it, those two kids have very curious minds. And I have to say they're really smart for their age," Momoshiro said with a smile upon remembering the black-haired fourth-grade girl from the Dark Rose case 2 months ago.

Fuji agreed to what the junior power player said.

Besides Ryoma who met Kourin through chance, Fuji and Momoshiro were considered to be connected to the 9-year-old girl.

"_Nya!_ I wish I could see Kourin-_chan_ again. I want to see her cute face. She's like a doll, you know. A very cute doll, _nya!_" Eiji said which earned him laughs from his teammates.

But as they walked further, Ryoma was sure he heard someone mentioned a familiar name. Not just him. Fuji and Momoshiro heard it, as well. Even though it wasn't said out loud, they were pretty sure.

"_Oi_, Rin, that's enough! What's wrong with you?"

_I know that voice! And he mentioned "Rin", right? Could it be…?_ Ryoma immediately thought before deciding to look where the voice came from. Much to his surprise, he saw six familiar kids resting underneath the big tree. He saw Kourin simultaneously hitting her head with her hands, as if she was frustrated of some sort.

"Are you alright?" Sakuno couldn't help but to ask the black-haired girl.

Almost immediately, Kourin stopped on what she was doing. So were the other kids and then they faced the person who said that. Their faces lit up upon seeing the regulars and some of the familiar people from Seigaku.

Before anyone could stop Eiji, he ran towards Kourin and carried her around before hugging her tight.

Though surprised, Kourin managed to appreciate the gesture and she smiled as she let out a giggle. Conan was glad that someone managed to make Kourin smile since he knew his cousin was beginning to become gloomy for some reason related to the case.

"_Nya!_ I can't believe it! I just said a while back that I want to see Kourin-_chan_ again and then all of a sudden, you're here. _Nyaa!_ I'm so happy!" Eiji said with a wide smile, evident that he couldn't contain his happiness.

Kourin laughed at that. The regulars smiled at the sight before saying "hello" to the other kids. Eiji put her down before Momoshiro and Fuji approached her.

"I'm glad you can smile like that now," Fuji said. The girl answered with a smile, stating her gladness.

"Yeah. I agree with Fuji-_senpai_ on that. Your smile right now is different compared to when we first met you," Momoshiro added.

Kourin tilted her head to one side with an innocent smile. "Is that so? I thought my smile before is almost the same to my smile now."

"The keyword there is 'almost'…" Conan interrupted that earned him a glare from Kourin. The boy just shrugged it off, though.

"Well, a lot can happen in 2 months. Besides, I made new friends so there's more reason for me to be happy, right?" Then Kourin faced Ryoma, who was still quiet. His face was serious while looking at her intently. "What's wrong, Ryoma-_niichan_?"

It took a short while before Ryoma said anything. The atmosphere became somewhat tensed for some reason. But it immediately faded when Ryoma smiled gently as he approached the girl.

"I'm glad I get to see you again," Ryoma said with a gentle smile. The other regulars were surprised to see that from the freshman.

Kourin soon smiled after he said that. "Me, too, Ryoma-_niichan_."

"But why were you hitting your head a while back?"

That was when Kourin remembered what she was thinking a while ago, making her slap her forehead. "That's because I realized what kind of idiot I am."

Ryoma frowned at her words. "I don't think I know you as such, Rin. Is something the matter? What do you mean by calling yourself an idiot?"

"I'm an idiot for overlooking something extremely crucial from the coded music that led us here."

Those words caught everyone's attention—especially Haibara, Conan, Fuji, and Ryoma.

"What do you mean, Rin?" Conan asked.

The girl sighed before answering. "I asked a while back about the victim's estimated time of death, right?" Haibara and Ayumi nodded. "The reason I asked that is because of the words from the code. The killer didn't only state a clue about his next target's location but also the time when he would strike."

"What was the code about?" Fuji asked in a serious tone.

"The code was hidden in the music recorded in the mini-CD that the murderer was leaving near his victims. If I haven't heard the fourth music accidentally played during the interview yesterday, we wouldn't figure out that the next location would be this school, Seishun Gakuen. But we overlooked something from the code. That mistake made us unable to stop the murderer from killing somebody again." And that was when Kourin noticed that everyone's attention was onto her. The freshmen trio gaped and the two freshman girls were looking at her in awe. So were the other regulars.

But she just chose to ignore that for now.

"What part of the code did we miss?" Haibara asked.

Kourin faced the sandy-blonde girl. "The words that mentions of the full moon. _'Silver moon, enlighten me in full as I end their journey with my tool…'_ It states that the murderer killed his fifth victim during the full moon—10:49 PM last night, to be exact. And the estimated time of death was between 10:00 and 11:00 PM. You would never call that a coincidence at all," she stated gravely.

No one could say anything about that—well, only the Seigaku students, that is. Not only because of what they've heard but also because of Kourin. How come a kid like here even think like this?

But Conan and Ryoma knew better. Kourin's mind had always been like this—a mind that had been advanced than the mind of a normal kid. The other kids were used to this so it was just a normal event for them. Conan smirked at that.

_As expected of Rin. Well, what can I say? She is a Kudo, after all—a Kudo that will soon surpass me in terms of deductive ability. Not to mention, the minds of the Shinomiya family members isn't something to be taken lightly…_ And man, he was really proud to have Kourin as a cousin. Conan could see himself in her, only Kourin was probably twice as smart as he was when he was a kid. _Oh, right! I forgot. Right now, I am a kid… But at least Rin doesn't treat me as such most of the time._

"You know, for a kid, your way of thinking is definitely ahead than that of a normal kid," Oishi commented.

_Of course, she does. She's not a normal kid, after all._ Conan would've said that out loud but he still doesn't have any plans to be killed by his cousin.

"She just has a knacks on solving puzzles and codes, besides having the ability to isolate different sound waves from each other. If it wasn't for that second ability, we wouldn't be able to figure out the message hidden in the mini-CD," Conan explained. "But I guess we couldn't outwit the murderer like this. He already went ahead of us."

"He's probably just a step ahead. You've finally figures out how to locate him and his target, right? I know you'll be able to do something about outwitting him," Fuji said.

_I really hope you're right, Fuji-san… But if we don't do something more than just solve his code, I doubt we'll be able to put an end to this. There's still the possiblity of a threat that the murderer's real target is actually a tennis club regular. We couldn't let that happen at all,_ Kourin thought as she looked at Fuji for some seconds before sighing. "I guess you're right. I just hope we could do that before his hatred toward these tennis players intensify tenfolds that could make him do something that we might never be able to stop at all."

"Rin, can I ask you something?" Ryoma inquired, breaking his silence since a thought hit him. Kourin nodded as an answer. "It's about the flower that Fuji-_senpai_ spotted on the court. Do you think it has something to do with the murders?"

"If you want to consider the orange lily's meaning in flower language, we believe it has. Orange lilies means _'revenge, hatred, and disdain'_ and if you associate it with the murders happening right now, then you could easily identify the general motive of the murderer. It also means _'wealth' _and _'pride' _but I'm still not that sure if it has anything to do with this case. Lily is the flower of purity so it's not a surprise that the murderer is mockingly trying to convey us about his genuine hatred towards the people he brutally killed," Kourin explained which made everyone look at her in awe once more.

"_Nya!_ You're amazing, Kourin-_chan_!" Eiji exclaimed in amazement. "For a kid, you sure know a lot of thing. You read a lot of books, do you?"

"I don't have that much to do, anyway. It's better that I read books other than the mystery novels that my uncle recommends. That way, I won't end up as a mystery freak like someone I know." Kourin glanced at Conan after saying that. She giggled when she saw the bespectacled boy glowering at her. "I guess I should call it a day for now. All this thinking and puzzle-solving makes me a bit hungry."

Haibara sighed. "Of course, you would be hungry. You haven't eaten anything since dinner last night."

"Again?" Mitsuhiko exclaimed. "You know you easily get sick when you're neglecting your meal time, Rin-_san_. The effect of the gunshot you got 2 months ago isn't going to fade away as easy as that so you have to take care of your health, as well."

"I know that. It's just that I couldn't really bring myself to eat anything especially if there's something that's bothering me. Especially if it's about a code from the criminal who treated lives as if they were just mere toys. It's something I won't ever forgive and let go." Saying those words, however, made them notice the fourth grader clenching her fist on her side.

"Then why don't you come with us?" Kawamura suggested that made the kids look at him.

"To where?"

"To Taka-_san_'s _sushi_ shop. We're about to head there," Momoshiro answered with a grin.

As soon as they heard "_sushi_ shop", the kids (just Ayumi, Mitsuhiko, and Genta) suddenly became enthusiastic. Conan looked at them with half-eyes while Haibara sighed. Kourin just smiled at the sight. Of course, those reactions only meant they agreed to the suggestion. But before that, Kourin left and headed towards the nearest vending machine that she just passed by a while ago.

"I guess she'll be buying Ponta again. She really likes drinking that stuff," Genta which caught Ryoma's attention.

"Did you say 'Ponta'?"

Ayumi nodded. "She usually buys that when she wanted to calm her mind from thinking too much. She must be worried about this case too much."

"It's already expected," Haibara said placidly. "The victims in this case are those who played the sport she loved so much. Anyone who tainted that sport with this kind of brutality and blood spill isn't going to just get away from her like that…"

"Is tennis really that important to her?"

Conan eyed the direction that his cousin went to wistfully. "…more than anything… After all, it was the sport that reminds her of everything in her life…" Conan answered with sad eyes. "Tennis held everything about her past… her present… and maybe even her future…"

With that, both Ryoma and Momoshiro (since somehow they agreed to do so) followed Kourin which confused the others. Fuji just smiled.

"Did we say something bad?" Ayumi thought out loud, most likely to herself.

"No, no one did something like that. But I think they wanted to do what they could to divert Kourin-_chan_'s attention away from her worries," Fuji answered.

Conan thought about the words that Fuji said. And after a while, he then figured out that the _tensai_ has a point. "You're right. They might have that ability to begin with."

**-x-x-**

"It'll take time for you to reach it."

Kourin turned almost immediately as soon as she heard a familiar voice that made her smile. Ryoma was looking at her with a smile, as if saying that he agreed with what Momoshiro said.

"I know I'm still dealing with height issues."

_Height issues? Are you kidding me?_ Ryoma could've said that out loud if he didn't restrain himself from doing so. He didn't know if he should feel insulted or amused with the way Kourin said those words. Kourin doesn't have height issues… or maybe she does considering the fact that the girl was actually quite tall for her age. If one would look at her for the first time, maybe they'd say that Kourin was an ten-year-old kid and already in her 5th grade because of her height. But then again, her mind wasn't also something that could be ranged as normal.

Okay… maybe he does feel insulted since he doesn't have her height when he was at Kourin's age. As if he would admit that to anyone other than himself. _I wonder what this girl did to attain such a height at that age…_ Maybe he could ask her about that one of these days.

Kourin was about to put coins to the slot when someone beat her to it. When she looked up, she saw Momoshiro. She just let the two regulars do what they wanted.

But as she watched them, she was slightly surprised to see that Ryoma also bought the same item she was supposed to have.

"Could it be that… you like Ponta, Ryoma-_niichan_?" she asked.

Ryoma raised his head and nodded as he looked at her. Soon after, he took 2 Ponta from the vending machine and gave one to her. She smiled as she accepted it. As she was about to open it, she felt her phone vibrated in her pocket. When she took it from there, she frowned a bit when she saw Detective Takagi's number on her cellphone's LCD screen.

_Takagi-keiji? But why would he call me at this time?_ Kourin asked to herself. Apparently, the regulars had the same question in their mind as they also saw the name on the screen. Ryoma and Momoshiro looked at each other for some reason before they saw Kourin answered the call.

"_Moshi moshi?_ Takagi-_keiji_?" she started as she took a sip from the Ponta on her hand.

"_Ah,_ Kourin-_chan_! Thank goodness you answered my call. I can't seem to contact Conan-_kun_ so I called you instead."

"Is there something wrong?" The frown on her forehead hadn't dissipated even for a bit when she heard that. "Conan-_kun_ left his phone at Mouri-_san_'s since we were just supposed to play baseball today instead of going here at Seigaku. Is there something you need me to tell him?"

"Oh, that's right." Detective Takagi's voice suddenly became sober as soon as he started speaking. "I just thought I might ask for both of your help to figure out what's wrong with the new code. It's just that you've helped us with the other codes so I thought it would be best if I ask for a few more help on this one."

Kourin's frown deepened at the words that Detective Takagi said but she let him continue.

"It's better if I let you listen to the music. If it's not clear for you, then I'll just send the riddle through text message. Is that alright with you, Kourin-_chan_?"

The girl let out an agreeing sound and waited for the music to play. The two regulars couldn't do anything to get Kourin's attention since it was obvious to them that she was concentrating on listening to whatever the detective was telling her. To their confusion, however, she didn't say anything to the person on the other line for full three minutes.

They noticed one strange thing, though. Kourin's fist were clenched tight on her side as it quivered.

And then…

"Thank you for making me listen to that, Takagi-_keiji_. I'll let Conan-_kun_ know about that," Kourin said in a soft voice.

"Okay. Take care, okay?" Then the phone call ended like that.

"What was that about, Kourin-chan?" Momoshiro immediately inquired as soon as Kourin removed the phone from her ear. The girl didn't say anything, though.

This only made Ryoma worry for the girl even more.

It didn't take them long enough to hear another tone coming from Kourin's phone. This time, they saw her opened it and pushed some buttons.

Her frown remained there as she read the text message sent to her by Detective Takagi.

_**Try to catch me as fast as you can**_

_**Solve this riddle to find me again**_

_**Tears will fall from gray skies**_

_**For it will mourn when one dies**_

_**My blade will slice through its heart**_

_**To St. Rudolph is where I'll do this part**_

Just like the other code, it was stated in English. Kourin's hand started quivering as she gripped her cellphone tight in a seething manner—something that Ryoma noticed.

"Rin, what's wrong?" he couldn't help asking.

"He's taunting us. He's doing all these murders as if it was just a simple game," she answered with fury obvious in her tone.

Of course, what she said surprised the two boys who were listening to her.

"He already stated the next location. Now we just have to figure out the time when he will strike and proceed with his plan to kill another middle school tennis player."

"And that location is…?" Momoshiro uttered.

Kourin took a deep breath before answering. "St. Rudolph…"

**-x-x-**

**There you have it! That's Chapter 3! Please read and review.**


	4. Chapter 4

**TENNIS COURT MURDERS**

**(Sequel To "The Targeted Tennis Player Of Seigaku", Part 2 of "Detective Tennis" series)**

Standard disclaimer applies. You are warned that the characters might not be in their usual selves (in other words, possible OOCness).

Many thanks to **Janet, rd, jack, anna, dindin, anonymous,** and **yanyan** (all are guest reviewers) for reading and reviewing from Chapters 1-3. I forgot to thank those who reviewed first since I never actually thought that there will be someone who would give reviews to this crossover story in the first three chapters. I guess you could say that perception was based from the result of the "The Targeted Tennis Player of Seigaku". I owe you guys a lot. I hope you like this next chapter.

**-x-x-**

**CHAPTER 4**

"St. Rudolph? That can't be, right?" Momoshiro inquired in disbelief.

"What did the code say?" Ryoma asked before Kourin could say anything to answer Momoshiro.

Kourin looked at the text message on her cellphone and read the code there in Japanese. " _'Try to catch me as fast as you can. Solve this riddle to find me will fall from gray skies for it will mourn when one dies. My blade will slice through its heart; to St. Rudolph is where I'll do this part…'_ Just like the previous codes, it was originally stated in English. But unlike the first four codes, this one already stated the location of his next target. And I guess he stated the time, as well. We just need to figure out when." After that, she kept her cellphone in her pocket and proceeded to walk away from the vending machine.

Ryoma and Momoshiro followed suit, especially since they began to worry for Kourin who was obviously frustrated with all this judging from her reaction upon reading Detective Takagi's text message to her a while back.

"This is getting frustrating…" Kourin mumbled that Ryoma still heard.

_I can already see that, Rin. I just hope I could do something to help you right now…_ But the freshman decided not to voice that out for now.

"Kourin-_chan_, are you sure he's going to attack at St. Rudolph?" Momoshiro asked as the three of them began heading to the school gate where the others were possibly waiting for them.

"Well, that's what the code said, but I find it weird since the serial killer never stated in his music code directly about the exact location of his target. This particular code already stated the location but he still wanted us to figure out the time that he would strike down his victim," she said as she opened her Ponta and drink from it.

"Yeah. I just hope we could figure that out soon before he did strike at that school. Or else, Fuji-_senpai_ would be worried sick if he found out about this," Ryoma said placidly as he drank his Ponta.

"Fuji-_san_? What do you mean? Why would he be worried?"

Ryoma sighed before he looked at her. "Fuji-_senpai_'s brother is studying at St. Rudolph… and he's also a tennis player."

The girl was surprised to hear that. "Seriously?"

Both regulars nodded with a serious face. That was when she realized that it wasn't a lie. The three of them fell silent as they walked.

_If that's the case, then…_ Kourin began speaking after moments of silence. "Ryoma-_niichan_, Momo-_chan_, can you promise me one thing? I guess it's for the best for now if we don't tell this to Fuji-_san_. Of course, I'll still tell Conan-_kun_ but I need your help to solve this, as well. You think you can keep it from Fuji-_san_ for a while? I really have a bad feeling about this."

Ryoma and Momoshiro exchanged worried glances with each other. But admit it or not, they too felt the same way as Kourin. With smirks gracing their faces, they finally came up with the same answer.

"Don't worry. We can do that for you. I know you don't want many people to worry and become frantic about this," Momoshiro said with a smile.

She, too, managed to muster a smile despite her worries for her friends. It was a smile filled with relief.

"Thank you…"

**-x-x-**

_A few minutes later…_

The regulars and the Detective Boys reached the _sushi_ shop. In there, the kids began eating without a care in the world—well, it was just Genta who started eating like that. In Ryoma's perception, that fat kid could even compete with Momoshiro and would end up winning in a speed eating contest. He laughed when he voiced that out to his other _senpai-tachi_. Even Kourin laughed at that comment. But even with that, Ryoma could tell that it was somehow forced out from her.

Of course, it made him even more worried for the fourth grader.

The others began enthusiastically eating, as well. At least, it was enthusiastic enough for that particular moment. Kourin tried to do the same but she couldn't. She was worried. Ryoma and Momoshiro acted normally but Kourin's actions were making them worried even more.

"Rin, is there something you're not telling me?" Conan chose to break his cousin's silence as she asked her that question. She just shook her head as an answer even though she perfectly knew Conan would never buy that.

"You want to eat something else, Kourin-_chan_?" Kawamura asked.

She thought about it for a few moments before answering. "Will it be okay if I ask for salmon roe and _wasabi sushi_?"

Of course, the last two words caught everyone surprised. Well, almost everyone. And who wouldn't be? A nine-year-old kid would actually request for _wasabi sushi_? Seriously, this one kid was definitely out of her mind.

"It's okay. It's not like _wasabi sushi_ would actually kill her or anything," Conan said calmly as he continued eating.

"But Conan-_kun_, I don't think _wasabi sushi_ is something that Rin-_san _should eat at this point. Her tongue might not be able to take it," Ayumi reasoned with worries on her face.

"She just happened to have a weird taste in food when she's frustrated and worried, Yoshida-_san_," Haibara stated placidly as she looked at the black-haired fourth grader who just sheepishly smiled at her.

"But of all food she could eat when she's like that, why does it have to be _wasabi_? Couldn't she just ask for other options like flounder or silver mackerel?" Oishi inquired, worries were definitely obvious in his tone.

"She usually takes out her frustrations towards her choice of food. One of them happened to be _wasabi sushi_. It's just a miracle on how she was able to take that spicy food, though." Then Conan faced Kourin.

"I guess Kourin-_chan_ and I have similarities, then," Fuji said as he ate another _wasabi _roll.

_Yeah, it's a good thing she didn't have your sadistic personality, Fuji-senpai,_ Ryoma could've said that as a retort to the _tensai_'s statement but then, he knew better than to mess with his _senpai_ like that.

Soon after, Fuji handed one _wasabi_ roll to Kourin. "I bet this will help you calm your mind."

The girl looked grateful, though, as she accepted the _wasabi_ roll from Fuji. She ate it like it was just an ordinary candy before saying, "Can I have another one?"

As expected, Fuji complied with a smile. It made everyone—except Conan, Fuji and Haibara—surprised about that. But then Momoshiro and Ryoma realized that if it would help them get rid of Kourin's current frustration on finding out the time when the killer would strike, then so be it.

As for Conan, he knew too well that something happened when Ryoma and Momoshiro followed Kourin to the vending machine. But why would Kourin hide that from him?

"Conan-_kun_, can I talk to you for a minute? It's kind of important and really urgent," Kourin said after eating several _wasabi sushi_ from Fuji's plate.

One thing the bespectacled detective noticed, though, was that his cousin appeared to have eaten a larger share of _wasabi sushi_ from the _tensai_'s plate than Fuji himself. It was evident in Fuji's expression since Conan noticed that Fuji slightly gaped at his now empty _sushi_ plate. Conan could have rolled his eyes at the sight before laughing but he chose not to.

Conan nodded as an answer but he did so in confusion. Yet that confusion soon faded when he noticed Ryoma and Momoshiro's serious faces—unnatural serious faces, that is. Those two knew what Kourin was about to tell him.

"Sure. Do you want us to talk here or is there any particular place that you want us to go for that _important _and _urgent_ talk?"

"I think I'd rather talk to you _in private_," she answered meaningfully before casting glances to the others.

"You can go upstairs, if you want," Kawamura's father suggested. "You'll have your _wasabi sushi_ and a whole bunch of salmon roe when you're done."

Kourin's face lit up and immediately stood up as she started dragging Conan away from the others. "Really? Thank you, _oji-san_!"

"W-wait up, Rin!" Conan could only say as his cousin continued to drag him.

The rest of the people there could only stare at their disappearing figure in surprise and confusion when they saw that.

"_Nya_… What was that all about?" Eiji asked.

"It might be something interesting," Inui said.

"I doubt about that…" Momoshiro mumbled gravely.

Unfortunately for him, his _senpai-tachi_ heard it that only incensed their confusion.

"What do you mean, Momo?" Oishi inquired the junior power player.

But Momoshiro shook his head and continued to eat, but not as enthusiastic as he did a while back. "Don't mind me, Oishi-_senpai_. Forget about it."

But it was a hundred percent sure that they wouldn't do that. They don't need Inui's prediction on its probability for them to know that obvious fact. Whatever it was, they clearly knew it has something to do with the current serial murder case.

**-x-x-**

"_Oi_, Rin, let me go! You don't have to drag me like this. What's wrong?" Conan inquired as they reached a certain spot upstairs. They stopped on one corner before Kourin faced him with a sober expression. He then knew that their conversation would be something more serious.

"He's about to strike again, Shin- _nii_," Kourin started after heaving a deep breath. "He's going to murder someone from St. Rudolph. What's worse, Fuji-_san_'s brother is studying in that school and he's also a tennis player. But I'm not sure if he's a regular or not."

"What? Why didn't you say something about that earlier?"

"Oh, so you want me to do that in front of the others? It's enough that Ryoma-_niichan _and Momo-_chan_ actually heard me talking to Takagi-_keiji_ on the phone because he wanted us to help them solve the code. I can't simply blurt out stuff like that especially when I learned that one of the Seigaku regulars is actually someone connected to one of the students of the targeted school. Besides, I still need to figure out the time that this killer bastard would strike." And then she showed the code to Conan from her cellphone that Detective Takagi had sent to her. "If it's like the first four codes that we heard, the killer left a clue about when he would kill again. By the looks of it, it's like he knew we couldn't do that as fast as he killed the others. He's taunting us even in the codes."

Conan gritted his teeth as he clenched his fist to his side when he heard that as soon as he finished reading the code. But even still, he tried to solve the riddle in his mind since it was the only way. Maybe—just maybe—they could outwit the culprit at least once. They had to stop these murders, after all.

As both kids did that, the clouds outside started to get dark. Or maybe it was dark… and gray, to begin with. Something struck Conan's mind when he realized something.

"_Tears will fall from gray eyes…" Wait a minute! If that's the case, then… 'gray eyes' means gray skies. Then rain probably signifies the words 'tears will fall…'_ With that thought, and recalling the weather forecast he watched at the detective agency before he left, he looked outside the window. His eyes widened at the sight of the gray sky. _Then that means, he'll strike today… while the rain falls!_ "Damn it!" he hissed as he suddenly took off without a word.

"Shin-_nii_!"

But it appeared that he didn't hear her. He just continued talking off, making her heave an exasperated sigh. "You got to be kidding me!" But she still decided to follow him ro remind him of one thing. Conan already slid the door open when she reminded him. "Before you take off, are you sure you know your way to St. Rudolph?"

Of course, what she said made the boy stop to his tracks. _This girl really know how to ruin my excitement_, Conan thought in surrender before glowering at Kourin. "Okay, point taken. Do you know the way to that school?"

"No. but maybe someone here can help us with that," she answered in forced retreat when she realized that Fuji could possibly guess what was about to happen. She said that before glancing at the regulars who were now intently looking at the two bespectacled detective kids.

"I can take you there," Fuji suddenly suggested and stood up to approach Kourin and Conan. "But why do you need to head to St. Rudolph?"

_Great! Another forced confession… but I guess it can't be helped,_ Kourin thought before answering. "We need to head there before it rains. But that's all I can tell you right now."

"Before it rains? Don't tell us that the code mentioned—" But Momoshiro immediately shut his mouth when he realized that he was about to spill out the secret.

At the mention of the word "code", it didn't take the others long enough to gather the fact that something really did happen while Ryoma, Momoshiro, and Kourin were at the vending machine. And it had something to do with a code—possibly the coded message of the serial killer.

Before Momoshiro got interrogated by his _senpai-tachi_, he stood up from his seat along with Ryoma.

"_Oi_, where are you going?" Oishi immediately asked upon seeing that. But then he was surprised when he saw the distraught looks on the two detective kids (Kourin and Conan). Even Ryoma and Momoshiro had that kind of look while Fuji could only cast worried glances to the two kids.

"To the place that we needed to go to before something worse happens," Conan answered indirectly and in a grave tone.

"I just hope we could reach there in time…" Ryoma added in the same manner.

**-x-x-**

_A few minutes later, St. Rudolph…_

Conan, Kourin, Ryoma, Fuji, and Momoshiro went to the school targeted by the serial killer as fast as they could. The three regualrs used bicycles to travel. Conan used his turbo-engined skateboard and Kourin used her turbo-engined rollerskates. But as soon as they reached St. Rudolph, a gruesome scene greeted them at the tennis court. Conan was gritting his teeth. Kourin was clenching her fist at her side as she tried to catch her breath.

"We'll never be able to stop this," she mumbled while seething in anger. "Why can't we just figure out the answer to the code faster?"

"That jerk is doing everything he can to crumble everything that both you and Edogawa-kun had built so far," Fuji said in a serious tone—too serious, for that matter.

That made Kourin face Fuji. "What do you mean, Fuji-_san_?"

"I can tell that you've already thought of the serial killer as someone who's willing to throw everything he has for this one to finish in a way he wanted to end. The way he killed his victims already proved that fact. Slowly crumbling our spirit and determination to stop this horror—that's what he's trying to destroy by outwitting not just the police but everyone who's doing their best to put an end to this."

"You said so yourself, Rin. He's taunting us even in the codes he was leaving in the mini-CD. And he'll continue doing it until we finally realize the reason for all of this to happen," Ryoma added.

Before she could say anything about it when she realized that Ryoma was right, the five of them heard a scream before it got muffled by the rain falling in torrents and the rumbling clouds. Kourin looked up to the sky, allowing the rain to fall to her face before deciding to head towards the direction where they heard the scream. They were unmindful of the rain kept falling down from the gray sky—the ominous gray sky predicted in the serial killer's music code. But what could have caused that person—whoever that was—to scream?

That fact led them to the other tennis court of that school. Fuji's eyes opened wide, however, at the sight that greeted them.

A tall man clad in black and wearing a black and white mask was aiming a _katana_ he was holding to a tennis player's neck. And it was a tennis player that the three regulars fully knew.

"Yuuta!" Fuji called out loud enough for the said teen to change his focus from the killer to the _tensai_.

The black clad man also changed his focus from Yuuta to the five people now looking at him in total anger. Yuuta took it as a chance to get away from there just as soon as Kourin pulled out her tennis racket from her backpack and turned it on.

Yes, the tennis racket she brought with her was the one Ryoma used during the attack of the Dark Rose members at Seigaku more than 2 months ago. Taking out a tennis ball from her pocket, she immediately tossed the ball up, jumped and with all she got, delivered her first serve—which was meant to attack in full force—towards the serial killer. The ball flew towards the killer fast and with incredible intensity.

It was soon followed by Conan's deflatable soccer ball that he kicked towards the man who was about to follow Yuuta. He did so as fast and as hard as he could so he could make it and save Yuuta from being killed by that serial killer jerk.

Much to their surprise, the killer evaded the tennis ball that created a hole on the tennis court's ground as soon as it landed on one spot there. The tennis ball then bounced towards the wired fence and passed through it with incredible force. He managed to do the same with the soccer ball that deflated just after its ten seconds time limit of the air inside ended.

"Woah! I guess I overdid that a little bit," Kourin uttered with a wince before her eyes hardened as she faced the serial killer. Surprisingly enough for the others, the killer was facing Kourin, as well. Since the killer was wearing a half-mask, Kourin saw him smirked evily before he ran off and left. She felt her heart beating fast for some reason. Her hand was slightly quivering as her grip on her tennis racket tightened.

_Why do I have a feeling that I;ve sensed something weird and… foreboding like this before? And the killer's eyes… the way he gazed at me… I know I've seen it somewhere. When was the last time my heart beat this fast? Even my hands are quivering and I can't even stop it. I thought I'm done feeling something like this. Why do I have to feel it again?_

Conan noticed his cousin's strained look with hints of fear and confusion. Wait… fear? Fear for what?

It appeared that it wasn't only Conan who noticed Kourin's reaction. The three regulars also noticed the young girl's expression as she gripped her tennis racket tight. But that was interrupted when Yuuta approached them.

"_Aniki_! What are you doing here?" Yuuta asked despite panting because of running.

"We'll explain later," was all that Fuji said as an answer before he noticed Conan and Kourin heading to the first tennis court they went to a while back. "Yuuta, do you have any idea why that person was attacking you? he was about to kill you when we get here."

"I don't know. B-but I think it's because I saw him kill that poor guy there. I heard a scream—a painful scream—while I was practicing here so I followed the voice. Next thing I knew, I saw him pulling the _katana_ out of that guy's body and tied the dead body on the net. I got scared; that's why I couldn't even move to get away. That's when the killer saw me and chased after me. The blade was only centimeters away from my neck and I thought I was going to die if you guys haven't come," Yuuta managed to explain despite the fear evident in his voice.

"But I though the killer wasn't targeting regulars. Why do something like this now?" Momoshiro inquired.

"I don't think he is. Chasing Yuuta and nearly killing him wasn't a part of his plan. He probably wanted to silence my brother since he saw the killer committed his crime," Fuji explained. "But if Kourin-_chan_ hadn't made that powerful serve using her special tennis racket a while back, the killer might have really killed my brother, even if it wasn't a part of his plan."

"You mean that little girl?"

Fuji nodded to answer Yuuta's question.

"I have to admit, her serve was pretty amazing for a girl," Yuuta commented. "But she looked… afraid before she left with that boy."

"You noticed it, too?" Ryoma asked. Yuuta nodded.

"In any case, we need to follow those kids and call the police about what happened," Momoshiro suggested.

They were about to leave that place when they heard police sirens coming nearer—indicating that the police were already arriving the scene.

"I guess someone beat us to it."

"Sorry about that. But as Conan-_kun_ and Rin-_chan _perceived, this case will be even more dangerous for all of you," a woman's voice was heard from behind the four boys.

They were surprised to know who it was. "Miyuzaki Shouko-_san_…"

"Looks like you still remember me," Shouko said with a smile. She was holding a black umbrella to shield herself from the rain. That was when the boys remembered that it was raining.

They probably couldn't feel the cold from it because of what had just happened.

"Miyuzaki-_san_, what do you mean that this case will be even more dangerous?" Momoshiro asked the woman.

"You know her?" Yuuta asked Fuji when he faced his brother.

"She's a friend we met 2 months ago."

Shouko sighed before facing them with a serious face. "I'll explain it later once you had a a change of dry clothes. We need to head somewhere so you won't get sick. We might be needing your help now to solve and end all this."

The four tennis players exchanged glances at each other for a short while before they agreed with Shouko's words.

"What about Kourin-_chan_ and Edogawa-_kun_?" Fuji asked.

"They'll come with us so don't worry. But can I ask you one favor?"

Ryoma frowned. Now that was unusual. "What kind of favor?"

"Do what you can in order not to let Rin-_chan_ overwork herself with this case. I might not be able to stop her from doing what she think she could to stop these murders, even to do some reckless actions to do that. So I'll let you guys watch over her just until this case is done."

The freshman smirked as if he anticipated the favor before walking ahead. "You don't have to ask us that, Miyuzaki-_san_. We'll do it whether you ask us or not."

Though Shouko was a little surprised, she still managed to show a smile. "You're surely one confident guy, Echizen-_kun_. But if you said it that way, then I'll be relieved to know all that."

"Don't worry, Miyuzaki-_san_. We'll definitely do it. Besides, Kourin-_chan_ is our friend," Momoshiro said with conviction.

"Momo's right," Fuji added. "Kourin-_chan_'s a person who can't be easily stopped once she puts her mind to it and she's someone who obviously wouldn't notice that she's overworking herself. We'll try our best to do what you want us to do. I'm sure the other regulars would say the same thing." But then Fuji remembered something. "By the way, Miyuzaki-_san_, did the killer left a coded music near the victim he killed today?"

Shouko's face went sober before she turned around and started walking away. "I'll let you know soon. But then you have to prepare yourself."

**-x-x-**

**That's it for Chapter 4. Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**TENNIS COURT MURDERS**

**(Sequel To "The Targeted Tennis Player Of Seigaku", Part 2 of "Detective Tennis" series)**

Standard disclaimer applies. You are warned that the characters might not be in their usual selves (in other words, possible OOCness).

**-x-x-**

**CHAPTER 5**

Though confused about Shouko's words while they were at the tennis courts of St. Rudolph, the three Seigaku regulars decided to let it go for the meantime. They saw Conan and Kourin on one of the police cars near the other tennis court.

The medical examiner already put the victim's body in a body bag and place onto the stretcher before the remaining evidences got washed away by the rain. As expected, a mini-CD was left there again along with an orange lily.

Though chasing Yuuta—whom the kids later learned was Fuji's brother—and almost killing him wasn't exactly a part of the culprit's plan, the same process was done to kill the victim. The victim was killed in the same manner as the first five.

Shouko led the four tennis players and the two kids to the nearby hotel where she was probably staying for the time being. Upon their arrival to the hotel, a completely elegant and large suite greeted them.

"Why did you bring us here?" Ryoma asked as they entered the suite despite their clothes already soaking wet.

It was a good thing the guard allowed them to enter the hotel even though their clothes were drenched in the rain. As it turned out, that particular hotel was one of the business establishments owned by the Shinomiya family and currently managed by one of Shouko's cousins. Ryoma figured at least to the part that the hotel belonged to Kourin's family since the guard and the hotel manager recognized Kourin and formally greeted the young girl, addressing her as _ojou-sama_. He knew what the word meant, since it was a formal way of addressing a young mistress/young lady of a rich family—at least similar to Kourin's social status. Well, the term annoyingly reminded Ryoma of how the butler addressed that Hyotei monkey king.

"For now, this is the safest place for us to discuss the current case," Shouko answered and closed the door behind her.

The tennis players saw clothes neatly placed on the sofa. Almost all of the clothes there were obviously meant to be worn by boys—teenage boys—with two exceptions as it was obvious that those two sets of clothes were for kids. One for a boy and one for a girl. They approached it but before touching any of it, the four tennis players faced the woman for confirmation.

"You can use those clothes. Better hurry up changing before you catch cold because of staying under the rain for a long time." And then she told them which clothes each of them could use and where to change.

After a few minutes, the four teens were clad in their new and dry clothes. So were the two kids. The wet clothes were placed in the laundry and the chambermaid retrieved them at Shouko's request so it would be washed and dried before they leave.

"Thank you for the change of clothes, Miyuzaki-san," Momoshiro said with gratefulness in his voice.

"This is the least I can do. You don't have to thank me," Shouko replied before facing the still quiet Yuuta. "Are you alright, Yuuta-kun?"

That question startled the said boy and it made him face the woman. "Yeah, I'm f-fine…" But Yuuta seemed to be zoning out.

"You almost died back there. I can understand if you're still afraid and in a state of shock with regards to it. If it wasn't for your brother's arrival, I doubt if you'll be able to do something to survive."

"But even though we did arrive there, Rin was the one who first thought of something to create a distraction to help Yuuta-niichan get away from whatever sinister that the killer was about to do to him," Conan said, speaking for the first time since they got there.

With that said, he glanced at the aforementioned person who was staring blankly outside the window.

It made Shouko heave a sigh. Something about the events earlier made Kourin this way, she knew it. When she glanced at the tennis players, she saw that they had this worried and concerned looks on their faces. She could feel that the Seigaku regulars were at least troubled for Kourin.

"While she's like this, I'd like to talk to you about something," Shouko started before standing up from her seat and went to a drawer near the standing mirror and the grandfather clock. She pulled out a folder there and went back to sit on the sofa. "It's about the clues left on the fifth murder."

"It's another coded music, isn't it?" Kourin suddenly asked which surprised the others. Then they saw her walking away from the window and sat beside Conan.

"Your ears sure are sharp when it comes to this type of discussion, huh?" Conan commented with a grin which earned him a hard smack of a pillow on the head from the girl.

"I'm not exactly the type of person who easily gets distracted to listen to this type of discussion, midget detective," Kourin retorted and stuck out her tongue before crossing her arms.

"Hey! Do you really have to do that?"

"I have every right to do that to you, in case you didn't know that."

The others could only look at the scene between the two kids before smiling at it. Well, they never really thought that Kourin was actually listening to their conversation.

"You two never change…" Shouko commented with a helpless smile. "Well, at least we got everyone's attention. The code is still the same as the others. The killer left us a music code to decipher. Or to be specific, he left us a confusing riddle."

"Did he mention the next location?" Ryoma asked.

"He did. But what's weird, though, was the fact that he didn't only mention the next location but he also mentioned the time and the clues about the specific person that he will kill."

Of course, those words astonished the others since that was the first time something like that happened.

"What do you mean clues about his specific target?" Conan inquired.

"The code was long but I'll give you the derived answer from it just to cut the story short. The next location is Fudomine Middle School's Tennis Club. The time will be tomorrow before sunset—specifically 5:17 PM. As for the target, this is one thing I haven't found an answer."

Fuji frowned as his face grew serious. "What kind of clues did he give?"

The woman nodded. "He wrote it as 'the light year's angel', but I couldn't think of anyone which could possibly fit the description. Anyone who might be connected to that tennis club, that is."

After that, all fell silent. Most of them, though, appeared to be in deep thoughts, as if thinking on how to answer that sort of riddle. They tried to do it as calm as they could since they knew they wouldn't be able to think clearly if they would panic. In the midst of that, Conan suddenly spoke that broke the trail of their thoughts.

"Speed… He's referring to speed when he wrote the words 'light year'. Is there anyone you know who's known for his speed in that tennis team?"

The four tennis players looked at each other, as if that would actually help them answer the little boy's question. But then, almost immediately, the answer they were looking for almost immediately dawned to them.

"You couldn't mean…?"

"Kamio-kun?" Fuji mumbled.

"If Kamio-san is the person referred to as 'the light year' in the code, then who's the 'angel'?" Yuuta asked.

"Probably a girl special to him right now whom I believe is also a tennis player," Conan answered before facing Kourin. "Is that it?"

"If we're going to base it on the killer's M.O., then yes. He's still after a middle school tennis player."

They went back to thinking again. But then Momoshiro and eventually Ryoma found the answer.

"The killer's going after An…" Momoshiro mumbled in horror upon coming up with that realization.

"An? How is she related to Kamio-san?"

"Her name is Tachibana An, the sister of Fudomine Tennis Club's captain Tachibana Kippei. Kamio actually has a crush on her," Momoshiro answered Conan's question upon recovering from shock.

"You have a crush on her, too, Momo-senpai," Ryoma stated nonchalantly.

Momoshiro immediately blushed and was caught off-guard with that. Ryoma smirked when he saw that. Yuuta and Conan sighed while Fuji smiled when Momoshiro tackled Ryoma into a head lock.

This action made Kourin laugh as quietly as she could but still loud enough for the others to hear. It made Momoshiro and Ryoma stop on what they were doing. Kourin tried to regain her composure but the smile never left her face.

"Sorry… I wasn't supposed to be laughing. But I can't… help it…" the fourth grader said as she struggle to contain another fit of laughter.

The others smiled. Oh, well. At least they broke Kourin's serious mode even just for a while. The 3 Seigaku regulars couldn't afford to have her get too much worried about the case.

"It's okay. At least you laughed," Ryoma said with a small smile. Momoshiro and Fuji nodded in agreement.

But after a short while, Kourin's face turned serious again. "I just hate it that we're not making any progress here or at least prevent another murder from happening. And now, a regular was almost killed by that masked culprit. If we hadn't arrive there, Fuji-san's brother would've been dead by now."

"You're the one who saved Yuuta, Kourin-chan," Fuji said. "Speaking of which, what kind of tennis racket was that? The one that you used to save him. It looks amazing, even though it looked like a normal tennis racket to me."

"Long story but I'll try cutting it short. It's actually a collaborated invention of Agasa-hakase and two other scientists basing it on Conan-kun's super-powered sneakers. If what Ai-chan told me was the truth, Ryoma-niichan used it during the attack at Seigaku before." Then Kourin faced the said rookie with a knowing look. Ryoma answered with a nod.

If what Ryoma could see in Kourin's eyes was right, the girl didn't want to mention the truth with regards to that particular tennis racket—that it was, in reality, Kourin's collaborated invention with Haibara and Professor Agasa. Anyway, he could understand it since no one would actually believe that a kid like Kourin could help someone invent something as complex as that. Shouko already mentioned to him that Kourin's mind has always been far advanced for a normal kid—a trait she most likely inherited from both sides of her family, particularly Kourin's mother and paternal grandmother who were both scientists at the Miyuzaki Laboratory. Two months ago, he had seen a concrete proof of that—a proof that he vowed to keep as a secret.

"Saa… It was an amazing invention, nevertheless," Fuji commented.

Kourin groaned in frustration when she remembered something. "Yeah, right. Thanks to that invention, I guess I still need to pay up for the repair of the tennis court that has a hole in it because of my overpowered serve."

Shouko chuckled. "You don't have to worry about that, Rin-chan. What we need to worry about is the killer's next move."

"Okay, so if Tachibana An-san is the next target, we need to go to Fudomine earlier than the time of the killer's expected attack stated in the code. I guess that's the only way for now that we can outwit the killer," Conan said in a serious and firm voice.

"Let's just hope this code wouldn't be another one to mislead us," Momoshiro added, his voice has hints of worries and was as serious as Conan's.

"It's not a code to mislead. It's a code to lure someone out. The murders are like collaterals for that, more like a way for the killer to force that person to come out, whoever it is," Kourin said before sighing. "But if I go to Beika City now, it'll take me a while to get here even if I take a train after I go to school." Then she faced Shouko. "Shouko-san, would it be okay if I stay here just for tonight?"

The woman smiled at the young girl. "I figured you'd come up with this kind of decision so I prepared something with regards to that."

Kourin frowned. "Prepared something?"

"I already asked someone to take care of you as I investigate this case along with the police. I figured that going here from Beika City would take up much of the time. So I asked someone a favor to let you stay with them for the time being, just until we finish this. And they agreed."

"Are you sure those people you asked can be trusted? Will they really take care of Rin?" Ryoma asked, concern was evident in his tone. Much to his confusion, though, Shouko smiled mysteriously.

"It's for you to find out, Echizen-kun."

Okay. That really made him frown a bit. "Huh? What do you mean?"

"Rin-chan will stay with your family for the time being- Echizen-kun, just until this case is over. I already told this to Nanjiroh-san and Rinko-san. They're more than glad to do it since they said that they wanted to see her again. I relayed this message through Nanako-chan, of course."

The news made both Ryoma and Kourin smile widely as they looked at each other then back to Shouko.

"Really?" Kourin exclaimed. Shouko nodded. "But what about my spare clothes? You know what I mean since it's like I'm having a sleepover with them."

"It's already in my room. All the things you'll be needing."

"So what's my role here?" Conan asked Shouko.

Shouko faced the bespectacled boy seriously and intently. "I'm going to need your help with something. You're the only one who can help me as the police continues the investigation."

"Miyuzaki-san, why are you asking help from a kid? Sorry to suddenly ask this but I just did so out of curiosity since it looked like you've been relying on them," Yuuta blurted.

To the younger Fuji's surprise, though, the Seigaku regulars there were having confident and knowing smiles on their faces.

"They're not just ordinary kids, Yuuta-kun. That's all I can say to you about them."

"I agree," Fuji said. "We've already seen proofs of that before. They're what you can say as mini-Holmes, both Conan-kun and Kourin-chan."

"Don't worry. They're not the type who would cause trouble before they think. They're quite amazing for kids their ages, I can say that," Momoshiro added.

_Well, at least there are people here who finally realized I wouldn't cause trouble. But still, is it okay for Rin and Shouko-san to have them get involved with this case?_ Conan thought as he looked at them. Then he noticed Kourin from the corner of her eyes. _But I can see that Rin is definitely happy to see these guys again. It's been a while since the last time they saw each other, though I never expected their reunion to be in this situation. It would have been better if they met each other again under normal and uneventful circumstances—not like this. Not because of some kind of murder case._

"What's wrong, Conan-kun?" He heard Kurin whispered that disrupted the flow of his thoughts.

"N-nothing! I'm just doing some musings," he said as he scratched the back of his head and laugh before he went serious. "So you'll be staying with Ryoma-niichan for a while, huh? You have to prepare so that we could leave as early as we could. We still need to tell Haibara and the others about this. I don't want Mitsuhiko or Genta to say I'm doing all the hard work again and for stealing the spotlight."

The young girl laughed at her cousin's statement before they discussed what they needed to do. And when the plan was finally ironed down, they all headed to wherever they had to go.

**-x-x-**

"Thanks for the ride, Miyuzaki-san. We really appreciate it," Fuji said to the woman when they got out of her car. Conan remained with Shouko in the car, though.

"Conan-kun, you're not going with us?" Kourin asked.

"I'm not. Sorry. I need to go with Shouko-san for a while since she'll be heading to the police station to resume her investigation. I'll call you once I found something reliable."

"I see. Then be careful, okay?"

"You and your friends should be the ones who need to be careful, Rin-chan. We could possibly be heading out on a trap here so I want you to be careful and vigilant when you go to Fudomine tomorrow. Okay?" Shouko reminded.

The three regulars and the young girl nodded. Then Shouko's car went ahead. As for Yuuta, he went to the police station to give his statements about the attack and the murder he had witnessed earlier. Inspector Megure assured them that Yuuta would be safe. Same goes to the rest of the St. Rudolph's Tennis Club.

Kourin heaved a sigh when she saw Shouko's car took a right turn. She was about to carry her duffel bag where her clothes were. But Momoshiro beat her to it.

"A young girl shouldn't be carrying big luggages like this," he said with a grin before going inside Kawamura Sushi ahead of them.

"Does he always do that?" she asked.

"No," Ryoma answered plainly. "In fact, he rarely carries someone else's bag."

"He probably wanted to show off," Fuji said with a chuckle.

"To who?"

"Who knows," Ryoma said with a shrug before taking her hand. "Let's go."

Walking hand in hand, they entered the sushi shop where they were greeted by angry—or if not worried—faces of their friends.

"I think we're in trouble here," Kourin whispered with a grimace but she just saw the 3 regulars shrugged at that. _Or I think they're already used to this. Oh, well. It's expected since we left without even explaining anything to them._

"Where have you been, Fuji, Echizen, Momo? You just left all of a sudden without even explaining to us what in the world is going on," Oishi ranted in an evidently worried tone. "Fuji, what exactly happened? You made us all worried."

"Sorry, Oishi. But I don't think this is the right time for us to do some explanation. A lot of things happened and it'll be too much if—" But Fuji was cut off when he felt Kourin tugged his shirt.

Soon after, she spoke. "I guess it's fine if we tell them what happened. That way, Oishi-san wouldn't fret so much about it that he might have sleepless nights later."

The rest of the team laughed at her statement. But Oishi didn't take it seriously, though. He laughed at it, too, even though he felt a little embarrassed. But before someone could start with the storytelling, Ayumi noticed something.

"Rin-san, where's Conan-kun?" the girl asked.

"Ah, he went with Shouko-san to the police station. He said that he still has something to do and I guess to ask Yuuta-san some questions himself."

"Yuuta? Your brother, Fuji? What happened?" Kawamura couldn't help barging in upon hearing Kourin mention Yuuta's name and police in the two girls' conversation.

The three involved regulars looked at Kourin who sighed before nodding to them, giving them the signal to do what they thought would be best. Kourin sat beside Ayumi and just opposite of Haibara who was quietly eating her portion of the sushi. She listened as Fuji, Momoshiro and Ryoma told the details to the other Seigaku regulars and the other kids of what had happened at St. Rudolph until to the part where Shouko found them. But the four of them somehow came up with a silent agreement that they shouldn't mention anything about the killer's next target.

"Nya! I can't believe something like that happened," Eiji commented.

"Now the killer is even targeting a tennis regular?" Genta added.

"I don't think it was a part of his plan to kill Yuuta-san. But he was left with no choice but to do so to silence him," Haibara said placidly. "If Rin-san didn't use the super-powered tennis racket, everything could've been turned to something worst."

"Fuji-senpai speculated about the same thing," Momoshiro said. "But with this event starting to happen, I don't think even the regulars are safe anymore, as well."

"Regular or not, those middle schoolers are never safe, to begin with," Kourin uttered. Those words surprised the others. "If there's just a fastest way to stop all this…" And then she sighed heavily before she saw Kawamura's father placed a plate full of sushi in front of her.

"Maybe eating would calm your nerves for a while. You had too much for one day," the man said with a gentle smile. "This is our specialty. As for your wasabi sushi, I've already made them but you have to finish this first, okay?"

Though a little surprised, Kourin was grateful for that. She nodded and started eating. The others resumed their eating, as well. But as she continued to eat, questions started churning in her mind. As for the plan they had for tomorrow, maybe she or Conan might create some revisions to it. Of course, Fuji, Momoshiro, and Ryoma would have to know about it since those 3 would be with her tomorrow. Those three came up with an agreement that they should be her guardian—for reasons she couldn't tell yet.

"Ne, Rin-san, may I know what's in that bag?" Mitsuhiko asked as he pointed at the duffel bag behind her.

She looked at the bag that the boy pointed at and smiled. "They're my clothes. Shouko-san said I'll be having a sleepover later."

"Nya! Sleepover? Where? With who?" Eiji inquired, excitement and curiosity in his tone.

"Secret," the fourth grader answered plainly with a smile before she continued eating her sushi.

"No fair! Tell us," Genta insisted.

"No."

"Not even one hint?" Ayumi asked.

"Not even one."

"No fair! Come on, you can tell us," Mitsuhiko pleaded.

"It's still a secret."

The three kids sighed in defeat when they realized that they wouldn't get any answer from Kourin. When Kourin glanced at Haibara, she saw her doing something with her hand. It was then that she realized Haibara was communicating with her through sign language. They both learned it a month and a half ago so that they could communicate without the other kids knowing what exactly were they talking about.

_**You're going to have a sleepover with Echizen-kun, are you?**_Haibara asked using the sign language in a not-so-obvious way.

Kourin answered with a nod and began responding in sign language, as well. _**Shouko-san said it would be much convenient that way. So I guess I won't be back to Hakase for a day or two, just until this case is done.**_

_**They already figured out the next location of the murder, right?**_

_**They did, but I couldn't tell the others right now. Shin-nii mighttalk to you about it later with regards to the case. I guess he doesn't want Ayumi-chan and the others to get involved in this any further, knowing how dangerous this could possibly get.**_

_**I see.**_And both girls resumed eating their food, without knowing that Tezuka, Inui, and Fuji were observing them the whole time.

The three aforementioned tennis regulars didn't know or even understand what was going on but what they were sure of was the fact that Kourin and Haibara were communicating secretly. Inui observed the two girls from the corner of his eyes (or in his case, glasses) as he jotted down some notes about his observation in an amazing speed on his notebook.

As for Momoshiro and Ryoma, they acted normally (if you can call eating a bunch of sushi normal) as they watched the others enjoying themselves with the sushi. But it was still obvious that the team—even the other freshmen—were not as active as they normally were. Well, who would be? A tennis club member was killed followed by another one even though the latter was in a different school. They couldn't possibly have fun with this kind of situation.

It was when Momoshiro and Ryoma figured out that it was for the best that no other people should know about what Shouko had told them a while back. They also realized that they would be facing a danger probably even worser than what they had experienced more than 2 months ago. Preparing for that danger would be the best precaution that they could do…

…at least for now.

**-x-x-**

**There! Chapter 5's done… and there's 7 more chapters to come. Sorry for the extremely late update on this story. I don't have time to face the computer even though it's vacation because of various reasons. That's all I have to say about this.**

**Okay! Time to do some story promotions and few trivias.**

**If you read my POT stories entitled "Seasons of Chances and Love" which is actually a series of love stories for the Seigaku regulars, the events there actually happened a year and two after the events in this story. The events in the series actually spanned for two years, one love story featuring a Seigaku regular in each season. In "Classic Love In Spring (Tezuka's love story)", Kourin made an appearance (at least through phone calls that she made to Tezuka and Oshitari) in the last 2 chapters. In "Perfect Love In Summer (Fuji's love story)", Kourin was also mentioned vaguely. She was the "princess" that Yumemiya Mamoru referred there when he was asking a girl named Julie about the princess in Chapter 6.**

**So you could say that in so many ways, this story is connected to that series of Seigaku regulars' love stories. Right now, I've just started the third story of the series which is Oishi's love story entitled "Promised Love In Autumn" with Doctor Miyuzaki Shouda's second cousin as his love interest, Miyuzaki Kana.**

**I remembered some of the reviews in "The Targeted Tennis Player Of Seigaku" about them wanting Kourin and Ryoma to end up as a couple. I've already decided on that issue so you can give me a guess if Ryoma and Kourin ended up as a couple or not. But there's actually one particular tennis regular in POT who really ended up falling in love with her but that person already thought that she's dead (which is in a way, quite true) because of the news of the death of the Shinomiya family during the attack in Miami that had become media frenzy in Japan. That person didn't know that Kourin survived the attack. If you read the first part of "Detective Tennis" series entitled **_**The Targeted Tennis Player Of Seigaku,**_** then you'll know this part of the event. If you want to know who could be that particular tennis regular, you can read about that in the 2****nd**** one-shot story that is a part of "Seasons of Sweet Memories" one shot series.**

**If you have time, I hope you can read them and leave a review. Tune in for the next update and please review!**


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